Some nonmetropolitan counties, largely in the southern United States, remained severely economically depressed during the 1970's despite nonmetro America's economic gains during the period; other severely economically depressed counties improved their incomes in the 1970's. This report builds on an earlier study which identified 298 persistently…

An estimated 44,340 longer term resident households in rural Kentucky were studied to identify the variables that explained changes in household income status between 1974-79. In a nine-county area of south-central Kentucky, rapid employment growth between 1974 and 1979 created new job opportunities, but employment growth did not benefit all…

Although earnings generally increased in rural areas in the 1990s, Hispanic population growth led to lower wages for at least one segment of the rural population--workers with a high school degree (skilled workers), particularly men in this skill group. Using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Current Population Survey, this report…